~ Day by day with RA …

Long-Term Effects

I got an amazing thank-you card from a dear friend yesterday. At the end of the note, she made mention of how we became acquainted more than 20 years ago. She had applied for a position with my company and I hired her. This led to some other connections and, even though we’ve all gone off on other tangents, through these connections, we have built a close-knit group of friends. We’ve watched each other’s kids grow up and helped each other through divorces, deaths, serious illness as well as celebrate the happy times.

It’s amazing to me how that one chance encounter has affected the course of our lives in so many ways as time has passed. There are those major turning points in life (which college, which mate, when/if to have children), but often, it’s the small things that can make a long-term difference. (I met my husband at the Houston airport as we were waiting for the same plane back to Dallas.)

Unfortunately, not all long-term effects have happy endings.

The other day I refilled my husband’s and my prescriptions for the month and actually separated out the “disclosure” forms that come with each one, describing the side effects and cautions with the thought of filing them in a binder for future reference. As I leafed through them, I became more concerned. It’s enough to make you want to swear off drugs completely.

Neither my husband nor I appear to be suffering any side effects from the several drugs we take. But, like the first cigarette you smoke doesn’t kill you, I can’t help but wonder about the long-term effects are of drugs that you take for years.

I understand that not taking the drugs can have more, immediate, and severe consequences — like blood pressure medication. But I look at drugs like Arava that have a long half-life (two to four weeks, with medication still in the body for months), and it gives me pause.

I don’t know the answer. What I do know is that the long-term effects of uncontrolled RA are disastrous, as are the impacts of other chronic diseases. Like many patients I am grateful for the medical science that improves the quality (and quantity) of my life. On the other hand, I can only wonder what the long-term implications of these medical decisions are.

I hope that whatever comes into your life today gives you long-term happiness. Thanks for checking in.

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3 thoughts on “Long-Term Effects”

I take Arava, plaquenil and sulfasalazine myself, Carla. When I first read up about Arava, in particular, it scared me. But I’d just “failed” methotrexate (another ugly one) and, with aching hands and twinges all over that threatened far worse, I decided to take the chance, figuring that this time, the disease was worse than the drug. It’s always a gamble, isn’t it.

I took myself off all rheuma drugs and stopped seeing a rheumatologist in the early 90s, convinced by the lack of efficacy of the drugs and my constant pain that they were doing me no good at all. At the time, I was only taking NSAIDs, and of course, we know now that they don’t do much good by themselves. After roughly six years off all drugs, my rheuma went into remission all by itself. Might it have done so if I’d still been taking meds? I believe so. I really believe that mostly, RA is a roll of the dice.

Today, with my RA back and ramping up, I’m grateful for the DMARDs I take, and frankly, I’m afraid of what might happen if I stop taking them.

In the end, I think the meds do far more good than harm, but it’s smart to be vigilant. I hope this finds you feeling well and enjoying the approach of the holidays…

The main thing is to just pay attention to your body and if you notice any changes to talk with your doctor. Yes, the meds can be scary but sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do. I have several long time friends from the same encounter…I hired them over the course of my career(s). I firmly believe that nothing is left to chance in this lifetime and that there exists a purpose for all things. I am so glad I have these friends in my life now and I so cherish our fated encounter.